Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-153).

No description available.

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels play important roles in cellular physiology and biology. The present PhD project investigated the functional expression of TRPV and TRPM channels in human preadipocytes and cardiac c-kit+ progenitor cells and their roles in regulating cell proliferation, adipogenic differentiation or migration. In addition, the role of store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) channels in regulating cell proliferation and migration was also studied in human cardiac c-kit+ progenitor cells using multiple approaches including whole-cell patch voltage-clamp, confocal microscope, molecular biology, etc. We found that TRPV2, TRPV4 and TRPM7 channels were abundantly expressed in human preadipocytes. Activation of TRPV2 channels by probenecid caused a long-lasting intracellular Ca2+ transient, while activation of TRPV4 channels by 4-PDD induced Ca2+ oscillations. TRPM7 current was recorded with a Mg2+-free pipette solution, and inhibited by 2-aminoethyl diphenyl borate (2-APB). Silence of TRPV2 or TRPM7, but not TRPV4, with the specific shRNA, reduced cell proliferation via inhibiting cyclin D1, cyclin E, and p-ERK1/2. Individually silencing these three channels decreased adipogenic differentiation by reducing p-Akt kinase. The results indicate that TRPV2, TRPV4 and TRPM7 are involved in adipogenesis, while TRPV2 and TRPM7, but not TRPV4, regulate cell proliferation in human preadipocytes. In second part of the thesis, abundant expression of TRPV2, TRPV4, and TRPM7 channels was demonstrated in human cardiac c-kit+ progenitor cells. Similar to human preadipocytes, probenecid and 4-PDD activated Ca2+ signaling, and TRPM7 current recorded with a Mg2+-free pipette solution was inhibited by 2-APB. Silencing TRPV2 or TRPM7, but not TRPV4, inhibited cell proliferation by arresting cells at G0/G1 phase with a reduced cyclin D, cyclin E, and p-ERK1/2. Cell migration was decreased with silence of TRPV2, TRV4 or TRPM7 via inhibiting p-Akt kinase. The results show that TRPV2, TRPV4 and TRPM7 mediate cell migration, while TRPV2 and TRPM7, but not TRPV4 channels, participate in regulating cell proliferation. In third part of the thesis, we demonstrated that SOCE channels were composed of TRPC1, STIM1 and Orai1 by protein-protein interaction. Silence of TRPC1, STIM1, or Orai1 with specific siRNA reduced Ca2+ influx through SOCE channels, decreased cell proliferation by inhibiting cyclin D1 and cyclin E, and slowed down cell migration via reducing p-Akt kinase. These results suggest that TRPC1, STIM1 and Orai1 are the major components of SOCE channels in human cardiac c-kit+ cells. SOCE channels play an essential role in regulating cell proliferation and migration. Collectively, this PhD project has demonstrated for the first time that 1) TRPV2, TRPV4, and TRPM7 are abundantly expressed in human preadipocytes and cardiac c-kit+ progenitor cells. 2) These TRP channels regulate adipogenic differentiation in preadipocytes and migration in cardiac c-kit+ progenitor cells. 3) TRPV2 and TRPM7, but not TRPV4, are involved in cell proliferation of human preadipocytes and cardiac c-kit+ progenitor cells. 4) TRPC1, STIM1 and Orai1 are interacted to form SOCE channels and regulate cell proliferation and migration in human cardiac c-kit+ cells. 5) All the above physiological roles of TRPV2, TRPV4, TRPM7, and SOCE channels are mediated by cyclin D1, cyclin E, p-ERK1/2, and/or p-Akt. / published_or_final_version / Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Autophagy is a major catabolic pathway for maintaining cell homeostasis through degradation and recycle of macromolecules and organelles. Autophagy can be activated under environmental stress conditions, including reactive oxygen species (ROS). TRPM2, a non-selective trans-membrane calcium channel, can be activated by ROS that, in turn, leads to intracellular 〖Ca〗^(2+) increase through 〖Ca〗^(2+) influx. It is well known that ROS regulates autophagy, and vice versa. Yet, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interplay between ROS and autophagy remain elusive. Here we studied the role of TRPM2-mediated 〖Ca〗^(2+) influx in interplay between ROS and autophagy. From our study, we found that ROS activated TRPM2 for 〖Ca〗^(2+) influx via ADPR to inhibit early autophagy induction, which ultimately led to apoptosis in TRPM2 expressing cancer cell lines. On the other hand, ROS induced autophagy, not apoptosis, for cell survival in cancer cell lines which do not express TRPM2, and autophagy inhibition, either by ATG5 knockdown or by treating cells with bafilomycin A1 (an autophagy inhibitor), converted cells to apoptosis upon ROS treatment. In addition, ROS dramatically changed mitochondrial morphology, increased mitochondrial 〖Ca〗^(2+) content, and abolished mitochondrial membrane potential in TRPM2 expressing cells. Moreover, we found that ROS-induced Ca2+ influx via TRPM2 actually activated calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) to phosphorylate Ser295 on Beclin1. Phosphorylated Beclin1, in turn, decreased the association between Beclin1 and VPS34, but induced the binding between Beclin1 and BCL-2. In summary, our data demonstrated that the TRPM2/〖Ca〗^(2+)/CaMKII/ Beclin1 cascade is the molecular switch between autophagy and apoptosis in response to ROS. Since dysregulation of ROS and autophagy has been associated with a variety of human diseases, e.g. cancer, neurological disorders, heart diseases, and liver diseases, manipulating the TRPM2/〖Ca〗^(2+)/CaMKII/ Beclin1 cascade should provide novel treatment option for these diseases. / published_or_final_version / Physiology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-113).

Thesis (M.S.)--Villanova University, 2006. / Chemistry Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-226).

No description available.

In recent years, the determination of several high-resolution structures of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels has led to significant progress within this field. The primary focus of this dissertation is to elucidate the structural characterization of TRPML1 and TRPP2. Mutations in TRPML1 cause mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV), a rare neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder. We determined the first high-resolution crystal structures of the human TRPML1 I-II linker domain using X-ray crystallography at pH 4.5, pH 6.0, and pH 7.5. These structures revealed a tetramer with a highly electronegative central pore which plays a role in the dual Ca2+/pH regulation of TRPML1. Notably, these physiologically relevant structures of the I-II linker domain harbor three MLIV-causing mutations. Our findings suggest that these pathogenic mutations destabilize not only the tetrameric structure of the I-II linker, but also the overall architecture of full-length TRPML1. In addition, TRPML1 proteins containing MLIV-causing mutations mislocalized in the cell when imaged by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Mutations in TRPP2 cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Since novel technological advances in single-particle cryo-electron microscopy have now enabled the determination of high-resolution membrane protein structures, we set out to solve the structure of TRPP2 using this technique. Our investigations offer valuable insight into the optimization of TRPP2 protein purification and sample preparation procedures necessary for structural analysis.